The Complete Guide to Sponsoring a Sports Team

Sponsoring a sports team can drive a lot of traction to your business, as well as create local and national relationships with consumers and fans. Throughout the years, there’s been an incredible boom of digital marketing and social media which can add an extra dimension to sport sponsorship for every type and size of business. The higher the budget of a business, the more they are able to get involved with things like national sports sponsorships and campaigns.

Sports sponsorship is one of the best ways to advertise your business to a wider audience, ultimately resulting in an increase in brand awareness, reputation and, and sales. In this guide, we’re going to be telling you about all aspects of sponsoring a sports team, whether that is locally, regionally or nationally.

What Is Sponsorship in Sport?

Sponsorship refers to the financial support for a particular sports team, event, or organisation. Local sports teams are often sponsored by local businesses to mutually benefit both parties. By financially sponsoring a local sports team, a business will gain recognition, primarily from the sponsorships being displayed on their kit and sponsorship banners around the pitch or clubhouse.. This will attract fans of the sports team to the business, whilst benefiting the local sports team from the additional support.

Types of Sponsorship in Sport

In sport, there are different kinds of sponsorship, and it is helpful to know the differences between them. This includes:

• Individual sponsorship
• Team sponsorship
• Association sponsorship
• Event sponsorship

It’s important to understand what type of sponsorship will work for your business; look at what budget you have to allocate, and why you want to choose that type of sponsorship. Event sponsorship can be great if you know the people attending could be potential customers, but team sponsorship can offer brand promotion for weeks/months on end.

Benefits of Sports Sponsorships

There are many positives to sponsoring a sports team or event that benefit the sports team as well as the business that is sponsoring the team. The club/team you sponsor will gain additional funding to help provide them with anything from new kit, to improved equipment.

From a business point of view, you’ll get the advantage of having your business displayed to fans of the club for a match, a few matches, or even an entire season depending on the type of sponsorship you choose. You’ll be able to generate a wider awareness of your brand and business, and demonstrate a interest in developing and supporting your local community.

When your business name or logo is shown at these sports event or on a team kit, potential customers will see them and hopefully want to learn more about your business and services!

Sports Sponsorship Examples

One of the biggest sports sponsorships is Adidas and the World Cup. Adidas sponsored the event, as well as sponsoring some of the equipment and kit. Adidas made a Twitter account for the ball that would be used in the event, driving a social media presence to the account, and ultimately to Adidas and their products. This increased the sales of Adidas, whilst creating a wider interest in the game, as well as millions of social media impressions.

Another example of a sports sponsorship is the Six Nations Championship, sponsored by Guinness. Guinness has sponsored the championship since 2019, with an increased presence of the brand within rugby. Additionally, Guinness has been the official beer for the event, demonstrating a smart way to increase the amount of Guinness being bought by the target audience. The sponsorship has strengthened the brand’s relationship with rugby, meaning the target audience is more likely to continue drinking Guinness.

How To Sponsor a Sports Team

Now you’re aware of the in’s and out’s of sponsoring a sports team, you should know how to get started on the sponsorship ladder. The best way to sponsor a sports team is to get in touch with us; we have a large national network of local grassroots teams looking for sponsorships. And with a range of sponsorship packages available, we have something to suit everyone.

Gift of Kit makes it easy for businesses like yours to access the unrivalled power of grassroots sport. Just because you aren’t the size of Vodafone or Nike doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from sponsoring a local sports team! Through our sponsorship model we identify an opportunity in sport which aligns with your brand values and design a sponsorship campaign to guarantee you long lasting results.

We find sports teams and clubs in the area based on the criteria you’ve provided, and you choose which teams to sponsor. With a network of 28,000 sports teams we have sponsorship packages to suit every business!

How Much Does It Cost to Sponsor a Sports Team?

Sponsoring a sports team is an investment, but it is an investment with a worthwhile outcome. Sponsoring a major professional sports team will set your company back at least £2, potentially ranging closer to the £6 million mark for a mid table premier league football team. Professional football commands the largest sponsorship fees but professional rugby costs much less. For grassroots teams it is the other way around, with rugby teams costing more to sponsor. Grassroots football teams range from £300 to £2,000 for football and £800-5,000 for rugby!

Sponsoring a sports team is not a light decision, as it can be an expensive investment to sponsor a professional team however, grassroots sport is where 97% of people play sport and it offers many great value sponsorship opportunities. Through a Gift of Kit sponsorship package you are often able to recoup most of the cost straightaway while still enjoying the unrivalled benefits of supporting sport in your local area. If you’re interested in sponsoring a local team, please get in touch.